Never Underestimate...

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A year and a half ago I was leasing a ranch before I married my husband and I ran a boarding/training barn there. When I took the property over it was in extreme disrepair and the current tenants whose contracts I inherited where.. well... NOT what I would call horse people, not really. The warterers were filled with debris and dead birds, the dry lots were covered in weed 6-7 ft. high and the entire property was frankly disgusting but I knew I could clean it and turn it around. It was an arduous task to say the least... The tenants were another story...

I had a tenant that would run horses, 10-12 at a time, every month thru the ranch and they would stay a week or 2 and then be gone and replaced by another batch of skinny, emaciated horses and the cycle continued, drove me crazy. As I worked the ranch cleaning the 150 waterers we had in the lots I came across an animal that stole my heart. A small red roan mare that was so sweet and I could hardly find her in the high weeds on his lease lot... but there she was.. skinny, thirsty (her water tank was dry) and so loving, so amazing, you could almost see her heart... I'll get to that in a minute.

My daughter's 13th birthday was coming up and all she wanted was a horse of her own so I called the owner. Come to find out... that very horse and the other 11 in with her were on their way to the dog food plant in Lavaca Mexico the next day. He said they were worthless and good for nothing. I paid him $500 for that horse and immediately moved her to my barn that afternoon. The rest is truly amazing... God really does find a way...

This horse had more spirit than I could have ever imagined.. she wasn't broke as far as I knew but she let my daughter ride her, bareback... in our back yard! She got past her birthday, I have never put balloons on a horse since they usually spook so easily but not this one. She was a real trooper!

It was my daughters faith in that scragly and emaciated horse that brought them to where they are today. I didn't even know you could compete in jumping Quarter Horses until my daughter is bareback jumping this amazing animal out in our pastures... setting up her own jumps no less and then riding her hunt seat at equestrian events and jumping that little mare over 3 ft. !

I thought she'd be a great little "starter" horse for my daughter but that little red roan has taught me more about heart and my daughter has taught me more about faith than anything else I have experienced in my life. My daughter kept raising the jumps higher and I kept getting more scared and she wold always say "Mom, she can do it"... She believed in it and I think WILLED herself and that horse to do it.

Anytime I have a bad day and I think I can't go on and I won't make it... I just keep reminding myself.. like Scarlet, I AM NOT dog food and I can and will exceed all expectations :) I can reach higher than even I expected!

Never let first impressions and stereotypes hold you back... you never know how high you can go when you have confidence and faith!!

P.S. We tracked down the original owners, they were horrified that she may have become dog food and we were amazed to find out she came from amazing breeding line... yeah.. we know her.. we weren't THAT surprised... And the brand they use... is a heart!!

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Recent Comments

17

What a wonderful story and what a Beautiful horse! :) Christa

What a fantastic story. There are so many wonderful horses out there with heart. The story on my little show mare is similar but not near as heart throbbing, lol. Thanks for the story.

Hi Sharon! I thought you might like that one... it's amazing how these rescue horses can turn out to be so incredible... God truly led me to that horse that day and she has been a blessing ever since.

Great story. Did you see the movie "seabiscuit" ? great story you would love, if you haven't seen it I recommend it.

LOL Larry I think we own every horse movie ever made and yes I have seen that one several times and Secretariat is probably one of my favs right there with Hidalgo.. I recommend both of those. Thank you for the kind words. Life is an adventure for sure :)

I thought maybe you had. I enjoyed both of the movies. Big Red my favorite Race horse all time. His grave is close to where I live in KY. His Belmont win is still the most incredible thing I have seen a horse do.

WOW. What a GREAT story!!!! Thanks for sharing it.

They are truly inspiring to me! A constant reminder that we should look beyond the exterior and see the heart inside.

That's great of you guys. It is really wonderful

Thats wonderful I have a friend who was given an emaciated 3 year old chestnut colt. He also appreciated his new home and Chicko is brilliant jumper and they have had a lot of fun together riding on the beach, in the forest and jumping at local shows. He is now fit and happy in his home for life. Her name is Chloe Jckson and she has dozens of photos of him on facebook

Oh how I love those types of success stories! I will look them up on FB. My daughter has tons of pictures of them jumping on her page also. Those 2 always amaze me with what they can do. I still can't believe we almost missed having this wonderful creature. We've actually had people offer us crazy amounts of money to buy her but she squarely NOT for sale. She is safe fat and happy now in her forever home with a young lady that just adores her... as it should be :)

What a great story. WOnderful way to start my day. Glyn

nice story and a beautiful ending

Awww, a beautiful story and a beautiful horse. Having worked in horse rescue I've seen horses in bad states, wonderful to see them a few months later after lots of TLC.
Quote for the day "I am not dog food," thanks for sharing Susan. :)

I had to LOL at that as the quote of the day :) You made me smile!

Wonderful story, (fighting back tears here) God's gift. I pray Joy, Confidence, and Freedom to you Dear Lady. ;-)

Thank you so much dear friend, my daughter and that amazing gift of an animal are truly inspiring everyday... hard to believe she was 24 hrs away from death and became my daughters whole world and has been such a winner and the two of them together... there are no words when you watch them ride...

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